


Flowers of Ice

by Martakus



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Darkness, Despair, F/M, Fear, Hope, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-16
Updated: 2015-02-16
Packaged: 2018-03-13 06:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3371399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Martakus/pseuds/Martakus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack Frost is desperately waiting for someone who can see him.<br/>Rapunzel is desperately waiting for someone to rescue her from her tower.<br/>A perfect couple.<br/>But is it really that simple?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Courage

**Author's Note:**

> A more recent work of mine.  
> Dedicated to the amazing writer and person poofable.  
> Enjoy and feel free to tell me what you think :)

Chapter 1: Courage  
Jack paused. He had spotted a peculiar valley. Peculiar because it contained a large tower that seemed to not have any entrance except a closed window high above the ground. But that wasn´t the only strange thing: The forest simply... ended in the area around the tower. It was like the bare area had been there since the forest grew; there was not a single tree stump to hint that any trees had been cut down. Who was able to cause a forest to simply 'stop' like that? And why would he or she do that?   
Jack decided to investigate.   
He had some time to spare anyways. The forest´s trees still bore quite a few vividly red and yellow leaves. Besides that, he had covered a large distance today and would have to rest soon anyway. And so he picked a branch to land on, lay down on it and began his rest, his gaze fixed on the clear night sky as comforting waves of cold rippled through his body, giving him Goosebumps and slowly beginning to numb his body bit by bit; his arms, his legs, and finally, finally, his mind, letting him forget all his desperation and his worry, enabling him to simply enjoy the moment.  
He was awakened by an enthusiastic shout, followed by a slam. A young, blonde-haired girl had forcefully opened the tower´s window. Jack guessed her to be 15, maybe 16. She leaned out and looked around excitedly, taking in all the colors the new day had brought - just like she´d never seen them before. It was strange, weird. Interesting. Jack´s curiosity had been awakened. Who was this girl? She clearly wasn´t normal. Her hair was just too long and too perfect for that. So she had to be something spirit-like. And that meant she might be able to see and interact with him. He couldn´t help but smile in anticipation.   
But Jack didn´t dare to approach her and talk to her. Centuries without human contact had made him anxious and awkward. He didn´t want to ruin this unique chance of finding someone to talk to by saying something wrong. He needed to observe her first, find out what she might be interested in, what might be the right way to begin a conversation. After all, he literally had all the time in the world, so he might as well take things slow.   
And so he observed. Day after day.   
The girl continued to surprise and abash him with her various talents and interests. For example, she was an amazing artist and a great singer. Besides that, she was incredibly educated. A tiny part of Jack envied her, but mostly he just marveled at her sight.   
On some days, he feared rejection. Thought she might not like him, cold, uneducated and awkward as he was. When he secretly peeked over her shoulder while she was reading at the window, he hardly understood anything.   
That scared him.   
There were plenty of reasons for him to admire her, but none for her to admire him. She was living in a completely different, higher world. A world of philosophy, of science, of art. A world of beauty. A world he didn´t belong to. All he could do was stand in awe while she diligently swirled through the tower´s rooms, taking care of everything that needed to be done. Could he possibly be a fitting match for her? But whenever these kinds of thoughts emerged from a corner of his mind, he quickly shoved them back and told himself that everything would be okay.  
But still, he couldn´t build up enough self-esteem to leave his isolation and speak to her. He kept hiding himself from her gaze, craving a conversation but fearing it at the same time. One day, an old lady walked up to the tower and shouted "Rapunzel!". So that was the girl's name. Rapunzel. Very interesting. Unique. Rapunzel then opened the window and threw down an incredible amount of perfectly golden hair. Jack couldn´t believe his eyes when he saw the elderly woman grab it and begin to climb upwards on it. When she reached the top of the tower, she entered the tower through the window. Jack, at this point highly alienated, began cautiously floating towards the window´s side, carefully staying out of sight. When he arrived, he placed his back on the tower´s wall and began to eavesdrop.  
Rapunzel and the elderly woman - who appeared to be her mother - were arguing. Jack couldn´t decipher everything he heard, but the topic seemed to be that Rapunzel wanted to leave the tower and her mother didn´t let her. Jack felt rage welling up inside him. That wasn´t fair at all! What kind of mother would do that to her daughter?!? It was just... awful! Inhuman! He wanted to step into that tower and teach that crazy woman some manners. - But then he stopped himself. That would have been stupid. It was way better to wait until the old lady was gone and then offer Rapunzel to help her get out of the tower and show her around the world. It would be an incredibly tempting offer - and a chance for Jack to get to know her. Yes, it was better to wait.  
And so Jack left the tower and flew back into the trees, where he waited patiently for the old woman to leave. When she finally did, her pure sight let anger well up inside him again. He just wanted to turn her hooded figure into a huge block of never-melting ice. However, he suspected that Rapunzel might not be very happy about that. Who knew how she would react? He had seen enough girls throw random tantrums in his life to know to not take unnecessary risks when dealing with them. That didn´t quell his anger, though. And since he guessed this kind of emotion wasn't a good starting point for any kind of conversation, he decided to sleep over all of this one more night. It wouldn´t make that much of a difference, or would it?   
But one night became two.  
And two nights became three.  
With every day and every night that passed, Jack grew angrier at himself. It was always like this: Life presented him with a chance and he was too scared to take it. His life would forever stay as lonely and miserable as it was that way!  
Just as Jack was about to give up and move on, Winter began and covered the landscape in white, glistening powder. The cold gave him power and built up his self-esteem.   
And so, before Rapunzel closed the window the next evening, he hung his crook on a branch he thought to be hidden from sight well enough to not by noticed by passerbys, but visible enough to make him sure he´d find it again and snuck into the tower, carefully staying out of Rapunzel´s sight. He crept into a closet to hide over the night. It was quite cramped in there, but the anticipation of talking to Rapunzel tomorrow didn´t let him feel any of that. He waited until Rapunzel opened the window at sunrise the next morning, jumped out enthusiastically, let the closet doors bang on the wall, sprinted towards a surprised-looking Rapunzel, opened his arms in the expectation of an embrace, jumped into the air -   
... and flew right through Rapunzel. The momentum carried him out of the window, causing him to begin an uncontrollable descent, especially since he didn´t have his staff.  
But Jack saw no point in slowing his fall anyway.


	2. Recovery

Chapter 2: Recovery  
The impact was brutal. It felt like his bones would shatter and - perhaps - fate would finally build up enough sympathy to let him go. But fate was merciless. He didn´t even black out. Instead, he lay there in the snow, every single bit of him hurting while his body frantically tried to repair the damage the fall had caused.  
But Jack was sure that one thing was broken beyond repair: His heart.  
He could feel its faint, steady beat, telling him he was still alive, but it still felt as if all warmth that had once been inside him was bleeding out, unstoppably spilling onto the snow.  
Then the cold came. Slowly, it seeped into his legs, his arms and then into his whole body. Not fast enough to let his body spasm and shiver. Not slow enough to let numbness gild over the pain. He lost all feeling for time. There was only cold.  
A single tear began to form in his right eye. It welled up on his eyeball and made the world blur before beginning to roll down his cheek, passing his ear and finally falling into the snow silently. Then another. And another. But there was no sound. Jack had cried in the snow so often he had stopped bothering to weep and sob and scream. He had accepted that nobody would ever hear him, nobody would ever offer his hand to help him stand up. And nobody would ever hold his limp body in his arms, patting his back and telling him that everything would be ok.  
After centuries of vain screams for help, Jack had given up all hope it would ever arrive.  
And so he restrained himself to simply laying on the ground and letting his warm tears melt the snow around his head until everything was out, until there was no power left to cry or scream or move anymore.  
As he lay there motionless, his body temperature sinking closer and closer towards the freezing point, his limbs becoming stiff and his blood flowing slower and slower, he heard a song. The wind carried it over from somewhere far in the distance. It was cheerful. Happy. Jack´s mind began to thaw slowly. Happy. Happiness. There was something about that word. He couldn´t recall what exactly it was, though. Was happiness something likeable? Something good? Or something worth despising? That made him angry? Jack wasn´t sure. His mind was completely blank. Maybe he should go where the music was coming from. Perhaps it would help his memories and give him new strength. And if it turned out to be a bad thing, well, he didn´t think it could make him feel any worse than he already felt. So he began to slowly move his limbs, letting fresh blood flow through them.  
After a few minutes, he was able to stand up. He was still quite clumsy, but he managed to begin walking slowly. His first priority was retrieving his staff from the tree he had hid it on. That proved to be quite difficult because he couldn´t fly without his staff. After a few rather humiliating attempts, he gave up on flying and climbed the tree. That worked. Holding his staff in his hands instantly made him feel stronger. But since he didn´t want to be overconfident, he decided to still climb down and walk.  
Wandering through the forest let his mind come to rest. He felt the desperation numb. He knew it wouldn´t be permanent, and he knew it wouldn´t take much for the shell he encased all his pain in to break open again, but he still enjoyed it.  
Pretending to be alright was still better than always being eaten up by unbearable pain.  
After he had followed the music for quite some time, he left the forest. He saw a church and guessed that it must´ve been the origin of the music. When he flew in through the wide, open gate, he was flooded with emotion. The church was completely filled, there wasn´t a single free seat. In front, a choir consisting of children of all ages was singing. He was deeply touched by the sight. However, it wasn´t perfection that abashed him, it was emotion. All these children were giving their best to impress their parents, grand-parents and all the other people inside the church. Most were singing with their eyes closed. Of course, every now and then, a child would miss a note, but did that matter? No. A wide smile crept across Jack´s face. This was what Christmas did to people. He wished that he would be able to do the same, but right now, he was content with just floating silently under the church´s roof, watching these happy children. And even though he knew his voice was way too deep to match the children´s high ones, he sang along quietly:  
  
 _Now the ground is white, Go it while you`re young_  
 _Take the girls tonight - And sing this sleighing song!_  
 _Just Get a bob-tailed bay - Two-forty as his speed_  
 _Hitch him to an open sleigh and crack! - You´ll take the lead._  
 _Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way_  
 _Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!_  
  
After they were finished, the children stormed off the stage enthusiastically. The crowd had stood up and was giving standing ovations. The parents welcomed their children with hugs and kisses. Though he yearned to be embraced as well, Jack left the church with a smile. This had been exactly what he had needed to help him get over the disappointment. And perhaps he just needed to change perspective. Rationally thinking, Rapunzel had had no reason to believe in him up until now. So maybe he could give her a reason.  
Lost in deep thought, Jack returned to Rapunzel´s valley.


	3. Annoyance

Chapter 3: Annoyance  
When Rapunzel woke up the next day, she noticed an ice pattern on her window. It looked just like a flower. A rose, each petal delicately formed from ice crystals. She frowned. Was she going crazy? Yesterday, she had imagined hearing a slam behind her. And when she turned around, it was just in time to see her closet´s doors shut. Or so she had thought. When she had looked inside, it had been as empty as it normally was. So why should it have been open in the first place? She had just shrugged it off as unimportant. But now this. Could there be a connection? On the other hand, winter had just begun. So it wasn´t unusual that there was ice on her window, and after all, one could find a pattern in any chaotic mess if one looked for it long enough. But - was she looking for something? Was she wishing for a pattern? A sign? A supernatural force trying to tell her something? Rapunzel paused, walked back to her bed and threw herself on it with an exasperated sigh. She didn´t like the idea, but - yes, she wanted a sign. More than anything else. She would give everything to let somebody besides her mother come up to her and talk. There were so many things she wanted to know. So many things her books couldn´t tell her.   
Laying on her bed, she became more and more annoyed with her existence. Everything was so unfair! She began to punch a pillow. 'This is so stupid! Arrrgh! Why can´t I have a knight on a white stallion that comes and rescues me like they always do in the books? Why do I have to be alone all the time?'   
After a short while, her anger dissipated. And with it, her motivation. She just wanted to lay around on her bed grumpily and groan about how unfair everything was.  
However, that phase didn´t last long.   
After not more than a few minutes, she jumped up and decided to go back to work. She had duties. The rooms needed cleaning, and there was food to prepare. But first of all, she would get rid of that damned frost pattern. Its sight annoyed her.   
But removing it proved to be more difficult than she first thought. When she held a candle close to it in order to melt it, it wouldn´t thaw. When she tried to hang a piece of cloth over that part over the window, the pattern shone through. After several failed attempts, Rapunzel, began punching the glass, annoyed as she was. She was determined to get rid of it. She had no use for irregularities in her life. They would only distract her from what was important.   
Perhaps her mother wasn´t that wrong after all.  
When Jack arrived at the tower on the evening - he had just unsuccessfully attempted to steal North´s sleigh - the window he had put his rose on was broken. Only Rapunzel could have destroyed it. So she had chosen to ignore him. But Jack just smirked. 'You want a challenge? You can have that. I´ll make sure you won´t be able to ignore me next time...'


	4. Misfortune

Chapter 4: Misfortune  
Rapunzel opened her eyes. Then she blinked, looked again, and closed her eyes once more. She shook her head and opened her eyes again, unable to believe that what she had seen was real. But nothing changed. The complete dome that stretched over her room was covered in flowers made of Ice. Her thoughts raced. This shouldn´t have happened. It was unnatural. Leading her to the next logical conclusion: Somebody had made this. Somebody had broken in here. Into a tower whose sole purpose was to keep intruders out. Her heartbeat began racing faster and faster. Her safe haven was being taken away from her and she was being shoved into strange lands with no orientation, no lead. It was terrifying. She needed to find whoever did this. And find him fast. She grabbed a few covers, wrapped them around herself and began running towards the main hall, her insufficient 'clothing' providing more danger for her to stumble over than actually keeping her from the cold. On the door, she noticed an ice pattern forming the words 'Jack Frost was here.' What the heck was that supposed to mean? Who was Jack Frost? As she entered the main hall, she spotted a pale boy wearing a hoodie waving a shepherd's crook around and seemingly using it to create the ice patterns. She was about to shout 'STOP IT!' when he turned around and sent a blast of ice flying toward her...  
Jack gasped in surprise when he saw that Rapunzel had appeared in front of the door. But it was too late to react.  
Everything was so cold. So unbelievably cold. Rapunzel´s whole body wanted to erupt in spasms, but it couldn´t. All her limbs were being held in place by a block of ice that was centered around her abdomen, but still covered enough of her body to keep her from moving. Only the tips of her fingers and her face were free. After looking around a bit, she deduced that she had to be hanging from the wall she stood in front of earlier, iced to it and her feet hanging a few inches above the ground. Her covers were also frozen into the ice block, but not close enough to warm her body. There was ice covering every inch of her body. It was humiliating. She was utterly powerless, completely at the mercy of this strange, cruel boy...  
Jack couldn´t stand to look at what he had done. He kept his eyes averted, making sure to never catch a glimpse of it as he paced up and down the hall with large strides, angry and frustrated with himself. When he noticed that Rapunzel woke up from her initial unconsciousness, his anger depleted. He carefully turned towards her and approached her with both his empty hand stretched out to show he meant no harm. 'I´m so terribly sorry. Please - Please forgive me!' he said. 'I really, really didn´t mean to hurt you. It was an accident!' Jack put his hands together in front of his face as he lowered himself to his knees. There was a long moment of silence. Then he couldn´t hold himself back anymore. Tears shot from his eyes. 'Say something!', he screeched when Rapunzel still didn´t answer. He crawled towards Rapunzel´s feet on all fours. His face was covered in tears and snot. 'This will never happen again. I was - I was!' Jack was interrupted by more sobs. 'I was just trying to do something good for once! I just wanted to make somebody happy. I´m so sick of always causing trouble. But it seems I´m such a failure I can´t even change that for once.'   
Rapunzel was unsure what to make of the situation. The boy didn´t seem menacing at all in that moment. On the other hand, he could be acting for all she knew. She didn´t know him at all. Her books had taught her never to trust strangers. Even if they looked like they needed help. Villains were often back-stabbing and good actors. Though, after all, she needed to get down from that wall before she died from hypothermia. So she decided to take the risk. Trying to ignore the huge lump in her throat and letting her voice sound as neutral and un-scared as possible, she said: 'I believe you. Now get me down from here.'   
Even though the words were spoken without the slightest hint of kindness, they seemed to light Jacks face up. He got up on his feet. His heart was racing and his emotions were completely inordinate. He removed a bit of snot from his nose with the back of his hand and attempted to say something a few times, but all that came out were faint wails and sobs. After a while, he took a step back, shook his head, coughed, and cleared his throat. This time, he managed to speak in an acceptable, if faint and shaky, voice, though he still kept his eyes fixed on the ground, afraid to look Rapunzel in the eye. 'O-Of course. Immediately. J-Just give me a minute. I need to wash my face; I d-don´t want to drip snot all over you. And I-I´ll figure out how to get you down from there. I can´t u-u-unfreeze things with my magic. I'm s-s-s-s-so sorry.' He had barely finished speaking when he raced towards the bathroom. After a little while, he came back with a candle in his hand. 'I-I-I´ll use this to t-t-t-thaw you. Okay?' Rapunzel just nodded.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Temptation

Jack decided to start from the top. Carefully, he began melting the ice around Rapunzel's head by holding the candle close to it. He tried to keep averting his eyes, but in the end, there was no denying it: Rapunzel was beautiful. And he had never been this close to a girl before. Because he had to make sure to melt all the ice while not burning Rapunzel´s skin - and also because his ice was magical and extra-hard to melt - the process took longer than he expected. His eyes had plenty of time to examine every bit of Rapunzel´s near-naked body. _Stay focused, stay focused, stay focused!_ he kept repeating to himself. _Don´t let it distract you! You want to show her you´re one of the nice guys! That´s all that matters now._ After a while, his heartbeat began to accelerate at the incredible tension in the air. _No, don´t look at her hair! Concentrate! You´re going to hurt her with the candle if you don´t!_ After a few minutes that had seemed like eternities to Jack, he had completely freed Rapunzel's perfect face and her shoulders from ice. She showed no expression whatsoever. Before his sub-consciousness could start speculating about the reasons why she remained motionless, he knelt down and began freeing her feet and legs. Jack wasn´t sure how strong and durable his ice was, and in case she fell down from where she was hanging, it would be better if her feet were free. He worked in absolute silence. He wanted to tell her about himself and his life, but he didn´t know where to start, and the situation just didn´t seem fit for that anyways. Though he managed to keep looking calm on the outside, the fight in his head was still raging. Two enemies, reason and instinct, both strengthened by decades of training, clashed together and Jack was in danger of getting caught in the crossfire _. Just look at this smooth, pale skin. Don´t you think it would match yours perfectly? And her mouth! It was so gorgeous... - No, no, no! Stay concentrated._ Jack's expression began to shift. He could no longer hold his inner struggle back. He swallowed several times in hoping of regaining control over his face, but it was in vain. _What if she rejects you? Are you really willing to let this chance pass by unused? Willing to wait another 250 years, just as long as you don´t offend this girl? Would anybody ever do that for you?_ The temptation was too big. He didn´t want much. Just a little touch maybe. Just to try how it would feel. _NO!_ His heartbeat raced even faster. It didn´t even have to be a touch. Just something really, really tiny. Just - just a little sniff at her hair - yes, that was a good idea. A little sniff wouldn´t hurt, or would it? _It would! It would! One thing would lead to the next! You know how these things happen._ Jack paused. Then he thought _'Shut up.'_ He rose to his feet. Rapunzel's face was on his eye level. She was a bit smaller than him, but the fact she was hanging from a wall compensated that. He glanced at her wide, green, innocent eyes. She still didn´t say anything, didn´t move at all. Slowly, he reached around her head and pulled a strand of hair towards his face. The smell didn´t resemble anything he had ever smelled before. It was completely new, alien. But it was still the best thing he had ever smelled. Jack had to forcefully stop himself from continuing to sniff at Rapunzel's hair like a crack addict. He let the strand fall from his fingers and looked back at Rapunzel's face. It hadn´t changed at all. There were still two wide, green eyes staring at him. What was she afraid of? He gave her a small, reassuring smile. 'No reason to be afraid. I´m not going to hurt you.' He paused. Still no reaction. 'Smile!' Jack audibly exhaled a bit of air. 'There´s no point in life when you´re always running around glowering, is there?'

Then he kneeled down again and continued his work. Soon he had passed Rapunzel´s knees. He put the candle down and stood up. 'I can reach the spot better that way', he explained, even though Rapunzel's face was still lifeless. He picked up the candle and bent over. After a few minutes, he reached a spot where one of the covers was frozen into the ice. He began un-thawing it until he could bend it a bit so it wouldn´t get in the way. Jack tried to close his eyes and look away, but it was in vain - the voices in his head began fighting again. _Just look at her bare, pink skin! Isn´t it beautiful?_ He took a step back, straightened his body and shook his head. _No. No. No. You´ve had what you wanted. That´s gotta be enough._ But it had felt so good! Maybe - maybe if he just took another one? Another sniff of this unfamiliar, exotic smell? That surely wouldn´t be a problem.

Jack faced Rapunzel once more. He smiled. Then he moved his head forward and inhaled. That smell! It was all around him, filling his nose, numbing his senses, making his head feel dizzy. It was so... Strange. Exceptional. Exhilarating. He took in her image. This perfectly pale skin, this cute, chubby nose, those large, green, beautiful, longing eyes - and then, there was no holding back.

In a swift movement, he laid his arms around Rapunzel´s neck, closed his eyes and put his lips on hers. The sensation was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Boy, it was so _good_! He wanted more. He _needed_ more. He let his tongue explore Rapunzel's lips until they parted and his tongue engulfed hers. Every touch was filled with static and her body - her amazing, tender, marvelous body - warmed his skin with its heat. He had never felt so hot before in his entire life. It was indescribable. Rapunzel had closed her eyes as well now and Jack could see her hands squirming and writhing ecstatically under the ice´s cold grasp, desperate to give in to his embrace and surrender her whole body to him.

 _Kiss me, k-k-kiss me_  
Infect me with your love and fill me with your poison  
Take me, t-t-take me  
Wanna be your victim, ready for abduction

He voraciously immersed her whole face in kisses. He didn't care whether it was her neck, her ears, her nose or her lips he was kissing. All he cared about was her warmth, this warmth he had desired for so long. He moved his body closer and closer to hers, let his waist bump into her still-frozen abdomen and moved his hands down her back. His whole body was burning with her presence, and his whole mind was focused on this very instant, on this ecstasy, this passion. It was so intense! Nothing else mattered. But he still wanted more. His movements picked up speed as he let his fingers run through her hair and entwined his tongue with hers over and over again, each time different and better than before. Then Jack's body erupted in pleasure, making his back arch and letting a loud scream of pure pleasure escape his lungs.

Then there was a crack, and the ice broke.

In an instant, everything changed. Jack's vision became blurry. His mind was unable to cope with all the information his senses were delivering. What was happening? Why was he being pushed around? Where did all the joy go? He stumbled backwards and fell onto a chair. Somebody tied up his hands. He didn´t understand any of his. He had felt so good just a minute ago... His mind felt slow and sticky. What did any of this mean? He was so exhausted. He needed rest. _Yes. Rest. Sleep. Just close your eyes..._


	6. Humiliation

Chapter 6: Humiliation  
Rapunzel squirmed. Her eyes were closed and her body shook violently. Everything was so cold! She wanted to flee. But there was no escaping this iron, ice-cold grip. Every bit of her skin was covered in Goosebumps. His face was inches from hers, and it was covered by a wicked grin. Then his slimy, cold tongue slid out and covered her face in saliva. It slipped over her nose and her cheeks, leaving behind an obnoxiously cold trail. His icy hands moved down her back, burning her skin with cold. Then, his tongue forced his way in between her lips and began jiggling inside her mouth. It squirmed like it had a life on its own, spreading cold slime all over her mouth, voraciously probing deeper and deeper into her throat. It made her want to throw up. She desperately wished for it to stop. And then, suddenly, it stopped. The blue-eyed boy's head moved away. 'Rapunzel', he said with a disappointed, caring voice. 'You should smile! I really don´t want to hurt you.' Rapunzel´s chest moved up and down rapidly as she gasped for air. 'Stop worrying all the time!', the stranger said. And then it continued.  Rapunzel felt like her body was being devoured alive by a ravenous monster. And she felt something breaking inside her. Something that could never be repaired. 'Well, if you don´t want to play along, I guess I´ll have to have fun by myself...' His cold, merciless blue eyes moved down her chest. 'Just look at this nice corset you´re wearing. Pink. Fit for a petted princess like you.' He traced his fingers over the cloth. Rapunzel could feel the chill his touch brought even through the cloth. 'But wouldn´t it be a pity if these strings broke?' Rapunzel arched her back in agony. She threw her body around with all her might. But there was no escape. He couldn´t be serious! With chattering teeth, a shaking body and a voice pitched high by agony, she stuttered: 'N-N-N-No! P-P-P-Please not! I´ll k-k-kiss you all y-y-y-you want! I´ll d-d-do anyth-th-thing. J-J-Just d-d-don´t do that.' But her screeching was futile. All that was left to do for her was close her eyes and turn her head away as he remorselessly began trailing down her chest with his icily cold fingers, freezing and breaking one string after another, slowly exposing more and more of her skin to the cold night air while he rejoiced at watching her agony and letting his insane, sadistic grin growing wider and wider until -  
Rapunzel sat up in her bed, eyes wide open and panically gasping for air.  
  



	7. Nightmares

Chapter 7: Nightmares

It was dark.

And it was cold.

But this time, there was no moon to chase the darkness away.

This time, he was alone.

All of his limbs were constricted: His arms were bound together, his legs were tied to the legs of the chair he was sitting on, his face was covered by a black cloth.

He couldn´t move.

He couldn´t flee.

He could only sit deedlessly as nightmares emerged from the darkness and began galloping towards him, entering his mind and ravaging it.

Thousands of images surged past him. Images of rejection. Loneliness. Cold.

Images of desperation.

He wanted it to stop. His mind begged and pleaded and screamed for mercy. He hoped, he prayed for somebody to come and ease his pain.

But nobody came.

The nightmares went on and on and on and on...

_It´s not a cry you can hear at night_

_It´s not somebody who´s seen the light_

_It´s a cold and it´s a broken Hallelujah_

Every inch of his body felt like it was about to burst. It was as if his skin was slowly being peeled from his bones, exposing everything that was inside him, everything that mattered to him, to the outside world, leaving it to be torn and ripped apart by the nightmare´s insatiable teeth. All that was left to do for him was hope that maybe, maybe his soul would finally break free from the eternal prison it was caught in...  
  
 _I remember when I moved in you_

_and the holy dove was moving too_

_and every breath we drew was Hallelujah_

He clenched his teeth together and squeezed his eyes shut under the blindfold, trying to control the pain. It seemed to ripple through each of his bones, burning his nerve cords, taking over his mind, voiding him of all other emotions.

_She tied you to a kitchen chair_   
  
_She broke your throne, she cut your hair_   
  
_And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah_

But despite the pain, Jack didn´t cry out for help. Deep down, he felt that he deserved all of this. He had messed up one too many times, hurt one too many people. Had been too selfish. And now all he had left was a world of neverending pain, loneliness and cold.

_I did my best, it wasn't much_   
  
_I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch_   
  
_I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you_

  
  
_And even though it all went wrong_   
  
_I'll stand before the Lord of Song_   
  
_With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah_


	8. Delirium

Chapter 8: Delirium  
Rapunzel got up from her bed, dressed herself and began walking towards the hall. It was only a dream, she kept mumbling to herself. Just your imagination running wild. Don´t let it worry you. She had kept Jack tied up for more than a whole day now. And she had duties to take care of. Her mother wouldn´t be gone forever. And if there´s one thing Rapunzel had no use for right then, it would be her mother coming home to find a white-haired boy tied to a chair and blindfolded in the middle of the hall. You need to face your fears. When she entered the hallway, she saw that the stranger was still tied up tightly. See? No need to worry, you scaredy-cat! He did seem way less menacing in the light of day. When she neared him, he didn´t react at all. Maybe he didn´t hear her. But he was mumbling something unintelligible. And he was smelling weird. Anyways, it was time to interrogate him. She decided she would remove the blindfold first, though. His cold, blue-eyed gaze still made her feel uneasy, and that was why she had applied it in the first place, but now it seemed unnecessary. Over-the-top paranoid. She scurried over to him and untied the knot. Then she slowly lifted the cloth.   
The boy´s pupils were turned all the way up so that his eyes seemed completely white. His forehead was covered in lots of tiny ice crystals. He didn´t seem to respond to having his vision back at all. He just kept on mumbling. His body was shaking a little. Why hadn´t she noticed that earlier? She let the back of her hand slide over his forehead. It felt slippery and cold. Was that... sweat? Did he sweat like this? She had no clue. She slapped his cheek softly in hopes of getting his attention. 'Hey. I might be able to help you, but you need to tell me what´s wrong with you.' At that, the boy´s eyeballs rolled. They still seemed focused on a spot far away, but at least he now seemed to try to talk to her. Shakily, he began to exhale: 'H-h-h-h-h-hs-s-s-s-s-so-o-o-o c-c-c-c-c-cold!'   
Immediately, Rapunzel jumped up. She still didn´t know what exactly had happened, but she knew that that boy needed help. There was no doubt something was really, really wrong with him. He might or might not have tricked her yesterday, but that didn´t matter now. Like a flash, she scurried around the rooms, fetching wood, lighting it in the chimney and closing the windows. Then she skillfully freed the strange boy from the chair she had shackled him to. Since he was still caught up in his delirium, he couldn´t walk by himself and she had to lift him from the chair in order to get him over to the chimney. She noticed that the back of his hoodie, where it had rested against the back of the chair, was completely soaked. So was the backside of his pants. And that smell... had he peed himself? Disgusting! But there was no time to dwell on these thoughts. She had hoped to be able carry him on her arms, but his shaking made that difficult. And he was quite heavy anyways. So she ended up shoving him on the floor and rolling him around clumsily. When she had pushed him into an acceptable position, she fetched a few covers. She still didn´t know what exactly was wrong with him, but she figured that if he was cold, a bit of extra warmth wouldn´t hurt.   
Then every task she could think of was done. The hall fell silent except for the crackling fire. Rapunzel felt uneasy. She didn´t want to just carry on running the household and letting him lay on the floor alone. But sitting around with nothing to do made her feel useless and let unwanted thoughts enter her mind.  
What if he didn´t recover?   
Was if his delirium was her fault?   
Had she been too hard on him?   
Looking at him now, he looked more like a terrified child caught up in a world that was too cruel for him. And she had made his world even crueler. What kind of awful person was she? Keeping a complete stranger tied up for full day without even trying to talk to him! Maybe he just desperately wanted a bit of love? A bit of warmth in his cold world? She didn´t know. These thoughts made her head hurt. Then she had an idea. She stood up, raced into her room, ran her fingers through her bookshelf, pulled out a book, turned around, nearly stumbled over her own hair, and returned to the boy. She sat down cross-legged beside his head, opened the book and began reading out loud: 'Once upon a time...'   
Soon the world only consisted of her, the fireplace and the white-haired boy. Nothing else mattered. Together, they were embarking on a journey of epic proportions, fighting dragons and saving princesses.   
The world was simple: there were good people, and there were bad people.   
The good people were always rewarded and the bad people were always punished.   
She didn´t know how long she had been sitting like that, but it must´ve been a while. Her legs had went numb quite a while ago. The sun had moved across the sky and was now shining through the window in a pointed angle. Just as she closed the book, she heard a strained pant. The stranger had lifted one arm with visible effort. He weakly turned his head towards her and whispered with visible effort: 'That was a nice story. Thank you.'   
At that, a spark inside Rapunzel incinerated. She had never felt this touched before. Her emotions swept over her like a tsunami sweeps over a rock. She had put him into this awful position, and still he thanked her! For doing something as self-evident as helping him recover! Tears emerged from her eyes. 'I´m... I´m so sorry. I don´t know what I was thinking.' A sob shook her, and she covered her face with her hands. 'Y-You´re not a bad person. Y-You didn´t deserve this.' With a shaky voice, the stranger said: 'D-D-Don´t cry. It's o-k-k-k-k-ay.' But the tears kept coming. They ran over her cheek, hung onto her chin for a second and fell down, leaving a dark stain on the carpet. 'I´m such an idiot...' she murmured.   
She stooped down in her sitting position and crossed her arms over her chest, as if to keep herself from falling apart, and let her tears flow. The stranger poked her shoulder to get her attention. He managed a weak smile and shakily said: 'If y-y-you´re an idiot, what d-d-d-d-does that m-m-m-make me?' A giggle escaped Rapunzel´s mouth. With a coarse, but less shaky voice, he continued: 'Honestly, what I d-d-d-did to you was far worse. It´s o-o-obvious you´d t-t-tie me up. If you can f-f-f-forgive me, I can d-d-d-d-definitely forgive you. So the real question is: C-C-C-C-Can you forgive me?' Rapunzel crawled over to him. Then she looked him in the eye and put a hand on his shoulder. With a serious look on her face, she said: 'Of course I can.' For a few seconds, they both looked at each other in silence.   
Then Rapunzel sat up and inspected the stranger´s condition. 'First things first: Do you think you´re better now? Can you stand up?' The boy shoved the covers off his body and sat up slowly. His hoodie was completely soaked with sweat. 'I´ll try. I´m still feeling a bit drowsy, but it should work. He scrambled a bit closer to the wall and then rose to his feet, shoring up on the wall at first, but soon managing to stand freely. With a smile on his face, he said: 'Well, it seems like we´ve been through the worst...'


	9. Recommencement

Chapter 9: Recommencement

'Okay', Rapunzel said. 'Now perhaps we should restart this whole thing all over, but properly this time. My name is Rapunzel. I´m 16 years old and as you may have noticed, my hair is quite long. That´s because it has magic powers, and those vanish as soon as it is cut off. I´ve been living in this tower for as long as I can remember. My mother won´t let me out because she´s scared I might get hurt if I run around on my own. But I really want to see the world outside.' She held out a hand. The boy shook it and said: 'Glad to meet you. My name is Jack Frost. I´m a winter spirit. I don´t age, and I´ve been like this for more years than I can count now. Only those who believe in me can see me. I was getting kind of desperate... You know, not a lot of people believe in me. Decades of loneliness would leave their scars in anyone's mind...'

There was a moment of silence.

'It´s a pleasure to meet you', Rapunzel said while letting his hand go, unsure how else to react. 'I can´t wait to get to know you better. Finally someone to talk to!', she exclaimed with a wide smile on her face.

Rapunzel froze, and after a moment of silence, she added: 'Though you might want to get something different to wear first. Keeping these sweat-soaked and dirty clothes on is probably not a good idea. ' Jack looked down at himself and blushed. 'Um... yes, you´re probably right... The problem is... I don´t have any other clothes. You don´t... happen to have spare hoodies and men´s pants in this household?'

Rapunzel blushed as well. 'Erm... no...' After a moment of awkward silence, Jack seemed to have an idea. 'I´ve got it.' He pointed at the place where he had been laying. 'I´ll just wrap those covers around myself. That´ll work.' He immediately began pulling his hoodie over his head. Rapunzel quickly turned around and covered her eyes with her fingers. Well, she thought, he´s used to not being seen. So he probably doesn´t feel the need to hide when he´s undressing. She hadn´t seen anything anyway. Her cheeks burning red with embarrassment as she mumbled: 'You might want to go to the bathroom to undress.' Since she didn´t hear any reaction, she opened her eyes by a bit and turned her head towards where he had been standing. He was still there, chest now completely bare and about to take off his pants. She shrieked in shock and turned back around. Jack seemed quite dumbfounded. 'What´s the matter?', he asked. 'I SAID YOU MIGHT WANT TO GO TO THE BATHROOM TO UNDRESS!', Rapunzel shouted at the top of her lungs. Jack paused and simply said: 'Oh.' Then he added: 'I didn´t hear you on that. Sorry.' He pulled his pants back up, picked up the covers, scurried over to the bathroom and shut the door.

A little while later, Jack came out of the bathroom, a plethora of covers wrapped around himself tightly. With tiny, scurrying steps, he moved over to Rapunzel. With a blush on his face, he mumbled: 'On second thought... This might not actually be such a good idea. If I wrap them tightly enough to be warm, I can barely move, and if I loosen them enough to be able to move again, I´m not warm anymore.' A few seconds of awkward silence. 'So... perhaps you could show me your wardrobe...?', he added. Rapunzel, visibly embarrassed, responded: 'Give me a second, I´ll go and find something.' She darted off and left Jack standing alone in the hall. Once she arrived in her room, she hastily opened every wardrobe she had and hectically searched every drawer. She had no clue what kind of clothes men wore! She wasn´t even sure about what exactly was different about men´s bodies! They had smaller breasts, that much she could tell... But besides that? And he was taller than she was. So she needed something large. Maybe an apron what do...? She wasn´t sure, but she had no time to think. She was already taking too long. And she still needed something for his legs. She didn´t know what else to do, so she just grabbed the first long skirt she found. She hurried back to the hall. Jack was still standing there stiffly.

At her sight, a weird expression formed on his face. Rapunzel, slightly confused, asked: 'What´s wrong?' Jack looked at her for a few seconds as if trying to figure out whether she was trying to play a trick on him. Then he uneasily asked: 'Erm... Pink?' Rapunzel, visibly abashed, asked: 'What's wrong with pink?' Jack, afraid he might have said something wrong, hurriedly added: 'No, no, nothing. Pink is... okay.' Rapunzel didn´t seem convinced and had a crestfallen look on her face. 'Don´t you like pink?' Jack immediately felt pity and asserted: 'No, no, really. Pink is great. I love it. Looks really nice.' Rapunzel still seemed suspicious. Jack grabbed the clothes and scurried back to the bathroom awkwardly, trying to make sure the covers didn´t fall off with one hand and carrying the clothes with the other. After a few seconds, a loud clang emerged from the bathroom. Then Jack´s pained voice: 'AUGH! I stubbed my toe on the corner! AGHH! It hurts!' As Rapunzel was about to open the door, another, more panicked scream: 'NO! NO! Don´t come in! I´m nak-... gonna be okay. Really. I´m gonna be okay. No need to worry.' Rapunzel paused in front of the door. For a while, she heard some thunks and some huffs. Then, suddenly, silence. 'Um... Rapunzel?', Jack asked through the door and raising his voice. 'Yes, what is it?' - 'Erm... Am I meant to not wear anything under this?' Rapunzel felt her cheeks heat up. How could she have forgotten that?!? 'Wait, I´ll fetch something and bring it to you!'

This was truly a precarious situation. She had hardly ever worn anything besides her corsets. And if she wore an apron while cleaning the house, she just kept the corset on under it. But Jack would probably not want to wear a corset. Hectically, she ran through the pages of her books. There had to be a picture somewhere! What did men wear besides knightly armor? Then she found one. A man was sitting on a horse with a wide, blue shirt. It kinda looked like a blouse. So something like that should work. From downstairs, she heard Jack´s dulled voice: 'How long are you going to take?' She shouted back: 'Don´t rush me!' Not long after, she had found a blue-ish pink blouse. Now the underwear. An even more delicate topic. She really didn´t have any clue whether men´s underwear was any different from women´s. And she was embarassed she didn´t know. If she picked something wrong, Jack would immediately find out she had no clue about these things. Distressing. But - she couldn´t really go down there and ask him, or could she? No. That would be way too embarrassing. Unsure what to do, she just picked up several pieces and brought them to the bathroom door. She knocked. 'I´m going to open it a bit and throw it in with one hand, ok?' - 'Yes.' Rapunzel turned her head away, opened the door, stuck her arm through the gap, threw the clothes in the air, nearly fell over, caught herself, shut the door with a slam and sat down with her back to it. That had been close! 'Perfect aim', Jack commented from the inside. 'What happened?'- 'Your underwear landed right in my face.' - 'Oh, sorry.' - 'It´s ok.' Rubbing noises. 'Don´t you have any men´s underwear? These things don´t really fit.' - Rapunzel's cheeks began to burn even hotter. She was starting to wonder whether her face would ever return to its natural colour again. 'No. Sorry.' A part of her wanted to ask him about the difference between men and women right then, but another part of her frantically screamed that her face might overheat if she did that. So she decided she´d rather not. 'Hm. This is mortifying, but I can´t run around in this thing all day.' Silence. 'So... what are you going to do? You can´t stay in there until your clothes are dried and washed!' - 'I know, I know. Let me think of something.' More silence. 'I guess I´ll have to run around without underwear for the moment then. Or do you have any other idea?' - '...No.'

After a minute, Jack walked out of the bathroom, freshly dressed and trying to hide his embarrassment about wearing a blouse, a pink apron and a skirt. His face was a pained mixture of feelings. He looked ridiculous. Rapunzel couldn´t help but explode into laughter. Jack was not amused. 'What´s up?' -

'Your face! I´m - ha - I´m sorry, I didn´t mean to laugh at you but - it just looks sooo funny!'

Jack scowled.

'I´m sorry! Really! You just looked so funny.' Jack didn´t seem reconciled.

'Hey, don´t look at me like that. You need to smile more, remember?', she asked, laughing.

'Haaa. Haaa. Haaa. So funny', Jack responded sarcastically.

'Aw. I didn´t mean that. Come over here.'

Jack seemed to consider a moment, then he accepted the offer. As he did, she put an arm around his neck, widened her eyes as if to beg and looked him in the eye. 'Are you still mad?' , she asked. Jack overplayed a haughty expression, scratched his chin and said: 'No. You have redeemed yourself.' Suddenly, Rapunzel tightened her grip around his neck and started rubbing his head with her fist. 'This is what you get for being such a party pooper!', she laughed. 'Ow! Ow! Ow! Haha! Stop!' Jack tried to break free from her grip, but there was no escape.

'Ha, you don´t stand a chance against the almighty Rapunzel!' Wrestling with their arms, they stumbled across the room. In front of the chimney, they fell over and landed on top of each other. After some more wrestling, Rapunzel had pinned Jack to the ground. Jack shouted 'I surrender! I surrender!' and Rapunzel rolled off him. For a while, they just lay beside each other, panting, but grinning widely. After a while, their breaths slowed. Jack said: 'Well, THAT was fun.' He exhaled and a wide smile covered his face. 'I could get used to that.' - 'Me too', Rapunzel said. 'Me too.'


	10. L.O.V.E.

They stayed like that for a long time, just laying beside each other on the floor, enjoying each other´s presence. As the sun set and the stars began their nightly route over the sky, accompanied by only the moon, shadows began to move in the hall, but there was no reason to be afraid, as they knew they had each other, and so they drifted away into sleep softly. As the sun rose above opposite side of the valley, they awoke, sat up, and looked each other in the eye. They smiled at each other.

Then the night was over, and the magic of the moment vanished.

'So, what are we going to do now?', Rapunzel asked uneasily. 'My mother won´t like it if she finds out I´ve met you.' Jack was enthusiastic: 'So let´s just elope! I can show you the world! Together, we can do anything!' Rapunzel seemed unsure. 'I don´t know. I´m not sure if I´m ready for this yet. It seems like such a huge decision.' Jack seemed to think for a second, then said: There´s no need to make it yet. I´ve literally got all the time in the world' He put a hand on her shoulder. 'Obviously, I would prefer to not wait another quarter millennium, but there´s no need to hurry.' Rapunzel giggled. Then Jack continued: 'We´ve got more urgent issues to worry about anyways.' Rapunzel seemed confused: 'What do you mean? Is my mother coming?' - 'No.' She let out a relieved sigh. 'Then what do you mean?' - 'Well, for example, it would be nice if I could finally get some proper underpants.' - 'Oh.'

While Jack was exploring the surroundings for a place to steal underpants from, Rapunzel began washing his clothes. They looked well-worn. And from a closer point of view, they were quite smelly. Did he ever change his clothes? She also noticed that yes, he had actually peed himself while he was tied up. But she guessed that was understandable. After more than 30 hours of writhing around in delirium, that would have probably happened to anyone. Especially to someone who is scared of being alone in the dark. There was so much she still didn´t know about Jack. But deep inside, she knew that he was her ticket to the outside world. And besides that, he wasn´t all that bad. From what she could tell, he was pretty desperate, but perhaps he had his reasons. Besides, he was kind of cute. So what was holding her back?

While he was looking for new clothes, Jack´s thoughts raced. He had realized that he no longer just wanted to get to know Rapunzel because he was curious. There was more. Something he couldn´t quite describe. But it created a fuzzy feeling inside his stomach and put a happy smile on his face. So it had to be something good. All of a sudden, the world didn´t look as grey and awful as it usually looked to him anymore. It was filled with color and hope. As he browsed through several clothes stores, a plan formed inside his mind...

A few hours later, Jack arrived at the tower with new clothes. He was now wearing a light, blue hooded jacket with a white shirt under it, combined with brown-ish jeans. He threw Rapunzel´s clothes over the handrail of the stairs leading down to the hall and politely asked: 'May I have your attention?' Rapunzel giggled and turned around. Jack cleared his throat. Then, he began singing with a deep and trying-to-be-seductive voice as he walked down the stairs into the hall:

 _L is for the way you look at me_  
O is for the only one I see  
V is very, very extraordinary  
E is even more than anyone that you adore can...

 _LOVE is all that I can give to you_  
LOVE is more than just a game for two  
Two in love can make it  
Take my heart and please don´t break it -  
Love was made for me and you

He had arrived the bottom of the stairs and was now swirling around in dancing posture. Rapunzel, with a mischievous smile on her face, commented: 'I´m not sure you hit a single note during that whole thing'. Jack stopped and threw his arms into the air. 'Agh!' He pouted. 'Couldn´t you please at least act like you were trying to appreciate my feeble attempt at being romantic?' - 'I do, I do. That was very cute.' Jack seemed reconciled immediately. 'You up for a dance?', he asked with big eyes. Rapunzel blushed. 'I can't dance...' - 'Of course you can!' Jack put his right hand on her back and held her left hand up with his. 'Now your left hand on my shoulder... All right! Now listen, it´s really easy: Two slow steps, then two fast ones. Three, Four!' Coyly, Rapunzel started moving while Jack yanked her around clumsily. After a while, their movements became more and more fluent. Jack kept singing the rhythm: 'Slooow, slooow, quickquick, slooow, slooow, quickquick...'. When he was satisfied with Rapunzel´s newly acquired dancing skills, he paused and said: 'You´re doing great! Now let´s try to add some more swirling. You replace every second set of slow steps with long, swaying back-and-forth ones while turning around. Got that?' Rapunzel didn´t seem very confident at first, and she did stumble a few times, but Jack always caught her gallantly. It didn´t take long until she had the steps down pat.

And so, they swirled around the hall and swirled and swirled. After a while, Rapunzel started to join in Jack´s singing. Cautiously at first, then with more and more confidence. She didn´t know how long they had been dancing when they stopped and let themselves fall on the fluffy carpet. 'That was amazing!', she exclaimed. 'Where did you learn that?' - 'Well, 250 years of solitude leave you plenty of time to learn a lot of things... and in my case, dancing was one of them', Jack said with a smile on his face. Then, he added: 'Besides, I´m far from being a good dancer. I only know some basic stuff.' Rapunzel just giggled.

The days went on. Slowly, they got to know each other´s worlds. Jack taught Rapunzel and Rapunzel taught Jack - and though he wasn´t exactly one to care for literature and science much, he tried his best to keep up with what she was trying to explain to him. In the evenings, they danced and sang and wrestled. They were nearly able to forget their unfortunate start. Nearly, but never completely.

And they also couldn´t forget that their love was a forbidden one. They were reminded every time Rapunzel´s mother came home and Jack had to hide while Rapunzel tried to act normal around her mother. Slowly, they both realized they couldn´t go on this way. One day, Rapunzel´s mother would notice the change in Rapunzel´s character, and nobody could foresee how she would react. They had to make a change.

And so, the day that had to come sooner or later, arrived. Surprisingly, it was the usually carefree Jack who asked Rapunzel for a serious conversation about their future. He stated that he was neither able nor willing to go on like this, living from day to day and not knowing what would happen the next one. Spending whole days i hiding, impatiently waiting for Rapunzel´s mother to leave. He was neglecting his cheer-bringing duties, and while he was confident that nobody would notice because everybody just ignored him anyways, he wanted security. A perspective for the future.

After that, Rapunzel indulged in deep thought for a long time. If she was to go with Jack, her mother would surely never forgive her. She would never be able to visit her again. On the other hand, she didn´t think she would really want to. All her mother had done for her in the past was lock her up in this tower and exploit her powers. There was nothing that really held her here. But what if her mother would track them? She, too, had magic powers, and Rapunzel wasn´t sure whether she had a way of finding out where she and Jack were hiding...

Finally, she made a decision: She would go with Jack. After years of caution, it was time to finally take a risk.


	11. Voyage

Chapter 11: Voyage

Jack had always loved the sea. Not the Mediterranean, where the water was disgustingly warm and the beaches were crowded with annoying, stupid tourists. No, he loved the north sea, where the ice-cold water was storm-battered and the shore was empty as far as the eye could see - except maybe a lonely lighthouse every now and then. There, he felt at one with nature. There, he felt at peace with himself.

And so, the first logical place to take Rapunzel was the North sea.

Though, there obviously was still a long, long way to go. The problems started with packing cases. Rapunzel refused to let any of her beloved pink clothes in the tower. Jack argued that he´d never be able to carry all those with him while flying. Rapunzel stated that they´d have to walk, then. Jack face palmed and said that it would a) take forever and b) be impossible to WALK around the world because there were oceans and the outside world was a huge place. After a bit of discussion, Jack was able to persuade her to limit her luggage. However, she still insisted that they would take at least three ridiculously large and ridiculously heavy bags with them. Jack took nothing with him except the clothes he wore - by then, his hoodie and trousers had been washed, so he was able to wear what he´d become used to over the past decades.

When they were finally ready to go, Jack was entangled in a plethora of straps and clasps. Rapunzel had tied them all around him in order to make him carry her bags safely. She, on the other hand, simply jumped on his back and put her arms around his neck. Jack suspected she had only bound the bags to his body because she thought that he would throw them away as soon as they were in mid-air - and not because she thought he might accidently drop them. Well, it seemed like she was good at guessing his thoughts. Because if it hadn´t been for those stupid straps, those bags would´ve been gone in no time. _Girls_ , he thought to himself.

And then they took off from the window. Rapunzel had known that Jack was able to fly with the help of his staff, but she had never imagined it to be this AWESOME. And so fast! She shouted out in joy. Jack turned his head around and smiled at her. She smiled back. The wind flailed her hair around chaotically as the landscape rushed past them. First there were trees, then bare mountaintops, then houses, then more trees. A part of her wanted to stop every few seconds in order to investigate something, but she knew they´d never get anywhere that way. So much to see! The outside world was, indeed, huge, and she suddenly was very glad to have somebody who knew his way around it with her. She would probably get lost immediately.

When dawn arrived, Jack flew towards a shallow valley and landed in a clearing in the woods. Rapunzel began to unpack - Jack wasn´t sure what for as they would only stay for a night - and Jack surveyed the surroundings for possible dangers. But he found nothing but trees and a little lake with a waterfall where a limpid and clear stream splashed down from a rock. When he had finished his round, Rapunzel had constructed a tent. 'Where the hell did you get that thing from?' - 'It´s called foresightful packing', Rapunzel said with a smug grin on her face. Jack had to resist the urge to facepalm. She had brought a whole TENT? No wonder the bags had been so heavy!

Later, he had to admit he was thankful for the shelter though. Yes, he was used to sleeping in trees, but it was way nicer to sleep in a tent with Rapunzel. It felt... snug. Secure. Not alone. And so he laid down beside her, still fully dressed. He always slept with his clothes on. If he had to face nightmares, he at least wanted to fight them in his favorite clothes. He knew it was kind of childish, but he just felt better that way. Rapunzel was still only in a light slumber, so she moved in her sleep. He kissed her forehead lightly and whispered 'Good night.' He paused for a second as he struggled with himself. Then he rolled away from her and faced the tent wall. No need to take unnecessary risks.

Rapunzel woke up and noticed she had been huddling a few covers together and hugging them in her sleep. Embarrassed, she shoved them away. She didn´t want to let Jack see her like that. But when she looked beside herself, Jack wasn´t there. Rapunzel frowned. Where could he be? Still half-asleep, she stuck her head out of the tent and looked around. The sun hadn´t yet crept over the edge of the valley. It was still very early. What was he doing outside in the middle of the night? Quickly, she got dressed and left the tent. While she was wandering about, she heard a faint, irregular sound. She decided to search for its source.

After a while, the sound began to grow louder and louder. Then she arrived at a lake. It was still quite dark, but she managed to make out a tiny, pale figure in the distance. A river was plashing down from a small cliff where the figure was standing. However, the spot was nearly on the opposite side of the lake, so it was hard to make out details. Quietly, she moved back into the woods in order to walk around the lake while staying out of sight. When she was only a few meters away from where she guessed the waterfall would be, she emerged from the woods once again. She noticed Jacks hoodie and trousers lying on the shore messily. Could that figure be... Jack? Now she could also make out his white hair. He was facing the other direction, so she could only see his back. He stood motionlessly with his head lifted towards the sky and water pouring over his face. Rapunzel was torn between her curiosity and her sense of morale. The latter told her to go back to the tent and pretend this never happened, while her curiosity told her to keep watching and maybe find out what he was doing. After a while, these two entities found a compromise: she decided to look a little longer and then go back to the tent.

Jack's skin was as pale as his face. The water made it glisten in the moonlight. He almost looked like he had become one with the water and the rocks around him, standing there motionlessly. It was a beautiful, breathtaking sight. The sound of the plashing water added a peaceful, natural feeling to the scenery.

While one part of her took in the scenery, another part of Rapunzel examined Jack´s body. It was the first time Rapunzel saw Jack - or any man, for that matter - naked. Though he wasn´t particularly muscular, she could see two vaguely triangular, flat bones standing out from below the back of his shoulders. His legs were covered in thin, white hair which was now lying against his skin tightly because of its wetness. As she looked more closely, she spotted the same hair on his arms. A few hairs also emerged from his armpits and the space between his legs below his thigh. But besides the hair and those bones, she didn´t notice any differences between his and her body. Maybe they weren´t that different after all...?

Lost in thought, she crept away silently and walked back to the tent.

When she next woke up, the sun had made its way over the top of the valley and a few birds were chirping, greeting the spring. But that wasn´t what had woken her up. Instead, she had heard a cheerful song. Actually, she could still hear it. And it was coming closer.

 _When I'm happy, when I'm blue_  
When I'm lonely, when I'm with you  
When I'm angry, when I'm in love  
When there's nothing, when there's enough:  
This is my song - always in my head  
It makes me strong - I'm glad to have 

_My song  
Aha ha-ah ha-ah_

_My personal song  
A ha ha~ ha~_

Jack - who else could that deep voice have been, anyways? - emerged from the woods, singing at the top of his voice and doing something that was apparently meant to be some kind of debonair dancing. When he spotted Rapunzel´s head sticking out of the tent, he paused and laughed. 'Barely awake and already eavesdropping, eh?' Rapunzel blushed. 'Come on, hurry up and get ready. I´d like to cover some distance today. The weather is good. Maybe we can reach the ocean.'

After a few more hours of flying, the landscape changed. It grew flatter and flatter until there was water on the horizon. As they flew nearer, more and more water came into sight. It seemed to never end. 'How are we going to get across this?', Rapunzel asked. 'That´s a good question', Jack shouted to make himself heard over the wind. 'I can´t fly far enough to cross it in one day. Usually I just take the route over the north pole, but it´s very cold there. I really like it at the north pole, but I imagine you might not be too fond of it.' After a moment of silence, Rapunzel inquired: 'Well, how do other people get over it?' - 'I´m not sure. I never really cared that much. But I think they use boats.' Silence. Then, Rapunzel asked: 'What´s a boat, exactly?' Jack thought he had misheard. 'What is what?' - 'A boat. You just said that word. I don´t know what it is.' Jack descended quickly and swiftly; then he landed on a tree. 'That´s much better - finally a bit of silence.' Rapunzel looked around. They were in a valley once again, this one more rocky than the last one. Only a few pine trees stood out from the ground. Jack freed himself from the straps and the bags he was carrying and continued: 'I like the wind, but sometimes you just need a bit of quiet and peace, you know?' Rapunzel nodded absentmindedly. 'So. You said you didn´t know what a boat is. ' Rapunzel visibly directed her attention towards him. 'A boat is... a bit like a large version of a nutshell. It´s made by humans. They usually use wood or metal for the shell. And as long as the correct side is facing upwards, it can float above the water´s surface.'

Rapunzel seemed to understand. After a moment, she asked: 'So... Can´t we build something like that?' Jack considered the idea for a while. 'No, I don´t think so. It takes a lot of scientific knowledge to really make sure it keeps floating correctly in a storm and won´t be turned over by waves. And while I know a lot of things, how to build a boat isn´t one of them.'

Rapunzel looked at Jack uneasily for a while. She didn´t know what to say. Was this the punishment for just running away without planning things out properly? Cautiously, Rapunzel began: 'Well, I guess we could also just stay - ' - 'NO!', Jack interrupted. 'I´m not letting a stupid ocean stop me!' He forcefully slammed his fist at his cheek, spreading his thumb towards his cheek. 'There has to be a way. Let me think!' He turned away and slammed his palm against his forehead multiple times. 'Think, think, think, THINK!' Rapunzel left him alone for a while. As he still hadn´t moved after a minute, she asked: 'Sorry... But could you get us down from this tree? I can build the tent while you continue thinking.' After a few seconds, Jack faced her with an apologetic smile. 'You´re right. Sorry for snapping at you.' Rapunzel didn´t respond.

The evening was silent. Rapunzel constructed the tent and Jack sat on a rock with a scowl on his face and resting his forehead on three fingers of his right hand. He didn´t notice Rapunzel approaching him from behind when she was finished. When she tried to talk to him, he just waved his arm and gestured that he wanted to be left him alone.

Then, suddenly, after the sun had vanished behind the horizon, his forehead slipped from his fingers. He buried his face in both hands and bent down towards his knees.

But he made no sound.

No sob escaped his lungs, and the grass swallowed the sound of his tears splashing on the ground. He couldn´t stop it - there was simply too much. He had tried to earn love and admiration, tried to do something right for once, and now he failed because of something so stupid and trivial. It was humiliating.

Rapunzel found him like that. A broken boy, reduced to an endless stream of tears caused by eternal loneliness and cold. Sympathetically, she knelt down before him. Then she laid her arms around his neck, pushed him into an upright position and pressed her body against his. He gave in to the embrace and leaned towards her. She patted his back.

They didn´t need words. It was enough that she was there for him in that moment. That she still hugged him despite him being such a failure.

Later, when they had laid down in the tent, the shell inside Jack broke open. All his pain and fear burst out in a violent wave of emotion. He couldn´t stop crying and sobbing and screaming. But it was okay. He was able to endure it. Because now, Rapunzel was with him. She took all the pain and the fear and simply disintegrated it with her presence. With her, he felt safe. He felt that he had found somebody he could trust completely, and so he wasn´t afraid when he opened himself and lay his insides before her. He knew she would never hurt him.

Then it was over. Everything was said, and all the tears had dried. They lay with their bodies clenched together in silence. Bit by bit, the magic of the moment dissipated. Slowly, Jack moved away from Rapunzel. In lack of something else to say, he mumbled: 'I should probably wash my face.' Rapunzel just nodded.

Jack went out into the woods, searching for a lake to wash himself in. He was silently conversating with himself. Was this what he wanted? Did he really want to take the responsibility of having somebody to take care of? He found a lake, knelt down on the shore and splashed cold water in his face. He looked around and took in the scenery. The dark, blue, starry night sky. The reflections in the lake. The moon shining above him, offering as little help as it always did. After what seemed like an eternity, he made a decision.

When he came back inside, Jack laid down on the opposite end of the tent.

No risks.

'Why do you always do that?', Rapunzel asked in a low voice. After a moment of silence, Jack responded: 'I´m always cold. And I don´t want you to be cold as well because of me.' Rapunzel hesitated for a second. Then she crawled over to him. He didn´t move at all, just kept facing the tent wall. She reached over and tried to touch his cheek, but he pulled away and coiled his body even further. Rapunzel followed his face with her hand. Then she softly stroked his cheek. He was breathtakingly cold. 'Look me in the eye', she commanded softly. Jack rolled over. Cautiously, but determined at the same time, Rapunzel put her hand upon his cheek. She took several deep breaths and exhaled audibly, closing and opening her eyes in the process. Then she said: 'Jack, I didn´t think I would ever be the one to earnestly say this, but this time, you are the one that has to stop worrying. When I´m with you, I´m never cold. You warm up my world. I´d do anything for you. Because even though we´ve only just met, and I hardly know you, I can no longer deny it: I am in love with you, Jack Frost. I really am. I want you to stay with me forever, and there´s nothing I wish for more than you feeling the same way.' Jack had tears in his eyes. With a faint, breaking voice, he whispered: 'I do. I feel the same way. Please stay with me. You´re the best person I´ve ever met.' Then he extended his arms and laid them around her neck. He pulled her close and rested his head on her shoulder. They lay like that for a long time, their bodies pressed together and their heads beside each other.

In that night, heat and cold became one.


	12. Endings

Chapter 12: Endings

At this point, it is my duty as the storyteller to tell you the ending of this story. However, I honestly think it is a rather slack one. Like whatever incomprehensible entity created this world with every molecule and every atom it consists of just got bored with it. Like it ran out of ideas and preferred to turn towards other occupations.

But over the years, I have thought of an ending I think to be far more felicitous. And without intending to sound arrogant, I am sure you will agree. So, let us begin.

_The next morning, after Jack wakes up and gently kisses Rapunzel awake, he tells her that he found a way for them to cross the ocean. He wonders why he was so blind to oversee it in the first place. They just need to sneak on a human´s ship! It would be so easy! After all, he himself is invisible anyways and they´d surely find a way to hide Rapunzel somehow if she braided her hair._

_So they put that plan into action, sneak up on a ship, stay hidden, and finally arrive in Europe. They fly around a little more and arrive at the North sea. Over the course of the day, they enjoy the wind and the waves together. And in the evening, they sit on a dune together and watch the sun set behind a lighthouse in the distance. They kiss. Play romantic music, roll credits. The end._

...

You´re not satisfied with this? Okay... Hm. You want to hear the true ending...? Really? No. You don´t want to hear the true ending. I guarantee, you will not like it. It is simply awful. Though, if you insist, I´ll gladly think of a different ending. Just for you. Am I not generous?

_The next morning, Jack is still frustrated. He still doesn´t know how to cross the ocean. But Rapunzel convinces him it doesn´t matter. It´s enough they that love each other and are there for each other. This makes Jack smile again. He realizes he needs to value all the things he has rather than always craving more. They live happily ever after._

There, gives you a nice sense of morality. Value what you got and be happy with it.

...No? Not what you want? Well, what the heck do you want? Do you WANT them to break up? I can do that!

_The next morning, Jack and Rapunzel argue about some stupid reason they can´t even remember a few days later. But they can´t forget the insults they screamed at each other. Their relationship just isn´t the same anymore. They break up._

There you have it. Is that good enough for you? Do you really WANT to be told love at first sight doesn´t work? Do you WANT that? Fine! Then go and scream and cry and weep about the fact that life is not fair. I´ve been trying to save you from the worst, you know? But apparently you don´t even value my attempts.

...

Please. Don´t read the real ending. It will not satisfy you, just like life itself is far too often unsatisfying. There´s no need to have this story rub that fact in your face. Life is not a movie or a play where there is a delicately thought-through ending. Things don´t happen like that. Sometimes, they just don´t go the way they were supposed to.

...

You´re still here... I guess I won´t get around telling you the true ending, will I? Okay. Here you have it, then. But don´t blame me for not warning you...

_When Jack woke up the next morning, the space beside him was empty. Panically, he jumped out of the tent and looked around. But Rapunzel was nowhere to be found. All her bags were still laying around in the open. He ran around, shaking his head, unable to figure out where she could be. After a while, he grabbed his staff and flew around, scouting the area. No Rapunzel. He landed and sat down on a rock, his hands in front of his face. Where was she? His heartbeat raced faster and faster. Where. Was. SHE!?! He scratched his scalp with his fingernails until blood began to ooze out. The pain welcomed him like an old, long-lost friend. Then he had an idea. A last, desperate flash of hope lit up his heart. The tower. He still knew where it was. He just needed to fly there. That´s where Rapunzel would eventually return. He jumped up, grabbed his staff and flew towards its location at full speed, not caring about the icy wind that seemed to be trying to keep him away from it , making his eyes water and causing his blood to run from his scalp and color his white hair in a wicked, desperate dark red._

_But when Jack arrived, the tower was gone. There was just untouched forest. Agony surged through his brain, filling every last bit of it. He let out a primal wail. Tried to let out all those decades of pain and fear. But there was always more. Always more loneliness, always more bad memories, always more desperation. He couldn´t stop screaming._

_Nobody heard him._

_At the same time, Rapunzel promised her mother that she would never leave the tower chasing a hallucination again._

_But just to be entirely sure, her mother had made sure their tower would stay hidden from Jack´s vision forever..._


End file.
